Gregor and the Proposal Problem
by aquember
Summary: Gregor has finally returned to the Underland and wants to ask Luxa to marry him. One small problem: so does every other eligible bachelor in Regalia, and Gregor may have to fight for Luxa's hand. Apparently marriage is not as simple as it seems.
1. Belonging

**Gregor and the Proposal Problem**

**Chapter 1 - Belonging**

~*~

It had been almost four years to the day that Gregor had left the Underland supposedly for good, and since he had last seen Luxa. And both of them were never far from his thoughts. He had begun to become distant from his friends and his family remembering a girl who was, for the moment, out of his reach. No one really knew who he was anymore, except for his now eight-year-old sister, Meg. She had outgrown her old nickname, Boots, and only tolerated Gregor calling her that, on occasion. Gregor's school friends, Larry and Angela, could never understand what had happened to him. He longed to tell them about the beautiful land and the amazing girl there that he loved. But he couldn't. They tried to understand what he was going through and stick by him, but as he unintentionally pulled away, they left him to himself. Meg too had problems making friends. She never seemed to fit in, and the fact she would begin speaking in crawler whenever she was angry didn't help.

The rest of his family couldn't understand how he felt either. They had all been in the Underland at least once, but they hadn't gone through what he and Boots had. By his sixteenth birthday, he was completely isolated, and he missed Luxa too much. And that was when he decided he had to go back.

He decided he would leave soon and without telling his parents. His only regret was that he wouldn't get to say goodbye. He stuck a note in the grate in the laundry room say he would need a ride and packed his backpack with a lot of flashlights and batteries. Then he wrote a letter to his family. That part was hard. After several cross-outs and drafts, he finally came up with:

_Dear everyone,_

_I'm going back. Before you freak, I just want you guys to know I don't intend to hurt you. Mom, you especially. I just don't belong up here anymore. There's someone I need to find before I go insane. Dad, you know what I'm talking about. If you ever want to write, you know what to do. And if you ever want to see me, you know where I am. I love you all._

_Love,_

_Gregor_

He signed it just as Meg walked through the door.

"What are you doing?" she asked him as she hung up her coat. Gregor paused before answering.

"Leaving," he said finally.

"Back to the Underland." It wasn't a question.

"Boots…" he trailed off. Meg flinched, but she let it slide. She looked up at him.

"Take me with you." she said. That wasn't a question either.

Gregor stared at her. "You can't do that to Mom and Dad and Lizzie!" he exclaimed. "It would kill them." Meg looked at him with pain in her eyes.

"I belong here even less than you do," she said softly.

"Meg, do you even remember the Underland?" Gregor demanded. Her eyes flashed, suddenly defiant. For a second, she reminded him of Luxa.

"Do you _think_ I could forget?" she asked sharply. "Sure I was two, but everything was… unforgettable. I will never forget."

Gregor sighed. She was his only soft spot. "Fine," he relented. "But write a note too." She nodded in agreement and pulled the piece of paper with Gregor's note toward her.

They walked down to the laundry room in less than an hour. Gregor's note lay on the kitchen table. Underneath his scrawled note lay Meg's neat addition:

_Mom, Dad, and Lizzie:_

_I'm going with Gregor. I don't belong up here either. I'm sorry._

_Meg_

* * *

When they got to the entrance to the Underland, Gregor saw a scroll in the place of the note he had left. He rolled it open. It was not very long.

_Look down._

_I can't wait to see you. Hurry as fast as you can. I love you._

_Luxa_

His heart skipped a beat. Luxa was waiting. Now he really wanted to get down there.

"What are you smiling about?" Meg asked.

"Nothing," Gregor replied, letting the scroll snap shut.

"It's _her_, isn't it? _Luxa_." Meg teased him in a singsong voice.

"Shut up," he replied, blushing. "Let's get going." He stuck his head through the grate and looked down.

"Nike!" he exclaimed.

"Hello, Overlander," the zebra-striped bat princess purred.

"Are you here to give us a ride?" Gregor asked her.

"Yes, and I'm not alone." She swiveled her body so she could see who was on her back.

"Howard!" Gregor exclaimed. "Hey, man! Long time, no see!"

"Nice to see you too, Overlander," Howard remarked. He grinned. "Nike and I are bonds now."

"Really? That's awesome!" Gregor told them. "Congratulations!" He pulled his head out of the vent. "Boots! Come here!" she came over hesitantly. "Do you remember Howard and Nike?" he asked her. Meg stuck her head through the vent.

"Boots?" Howard asked in surprise. "Is that you? Wow, you have grown a lot. Temp will be excited that you came." For the first time, Meg smiled.

"It's Meg now, actually," she told him. "And I can't wait to see everyone again."

"Then we should go, said Howard. "Come on!" Meg stood up.

"How do we get on again?" she asked her brother uncertainly.

"We jump," Gregor told her, and that's exactly what he did. And after a small hesitation, Meg followed.

* * *

Regalia was more splendid than ever. The parts that had been destroyed were fixed and more had been added. But the city could never be as beautiful as the Underlander girl who waited for them, for _him_, in front of the palace. Once they landed, Luxa ran towards him.

"Gregor!" she cried as she fell into his arms. "Oh, I've missed you so much." Gregor buried his nose in her hair.

"I've missed you too, Luxa," he whispered to her, then he pressed his lips against hers. A loud fake cough broke their moment. Both Gregor and Luxa glared pointedly at Howard, who glared back with clear disapproval. Then Luxa was distracted by what she saw over Howard's shoulder.

"Boots?" she asked in disbelief. She left Gregor's side and ran to Meg. "My, how you have grown," she told her. "You're growing into a beautiful girl." Meg ducked her head and blushed.

"I go by Meg now, actually," she said shyly.

"Meg," Luxa said slowly, getting used to the name. "Well, Meg, Hazard and Temp are up in the palace, and I'm sure you want to get reacquainted with everyone." Meg nodded. "And I'm sure Howard could show you the way," Luxa said pointedly. "Howard?"

"Sure," Howard said grudgingly, glancing at Gregor and Luxa. "Come on Boo-- I mean Meg." He let her over to the front door, where they disappeared inside.

"Now," Luxa said, turning back to Gregor. "Where were we?" and she pulled him into another, more passionate kiss. Gregor felt dizzy when it ended.

"Come on,"Luxa suddenly laughed. "This place has changed so much, let me give you the grand tour!"

And laughing, they followed Howard and Meg into the palace together.


	2. Getting Reaquainted

**Gregor and the Proposal Problem**

**Chapter 2 - Getting Reacquainted**

~*~

Gregor and Luxa walked into the new great hall while Luxa pulled him along. She babbled unendingly about the work that been put into the new Regalia and what had been fixed and what had been added.

"...Much larger than we really wanted, but it looks impressive, don't you think?" Luxa asked him about the hall they were in.

"Yeah, I barely recognize it anymore," Gregor answered. They stopped at the doorway on the opposite side of where they had entered.

"Do you want to see everyone again?" she asked him quietly. "They're all here. Lapblood's here, and of course, Ripred. All our favorite gnawers, plus some fliers and more than a couple humans, and-- " She paused. "We don't have to go if you don't want to."

"No, let's go," Gregor told her. "I miss everyone. I haven't seen them in years." He grinned. "Literally." Luxa smiled.

"Come on then. It's about time for dinner, and I'm pretty sure I know where at least Ripred is."

* * *

They found Ripred in the kitchen, apparently _cooking_. Gregor rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He wasn't, and he now saw Hazard, now eleven, and Meg running around as well, helping the rat, while Howard and Temp stood and watched.

"Bring some of that cheese here," Ripred barked, and Hazard rushed to do so. "Not a big piece. And you," he directed his gaze at Meg. "Stir this while I greet your brother." He gestured to the pot in front of him. Meg took the ladle from him, and Ripred turned to Gregor. "How's my favorite rager been since he left?" The rat bared his teeth in a grin.

"Fine, but better since I got back," Gregor replied. He looked at Ripred quizzically. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Ripred took the ladle back from Meg and dipped his paw in the mixture. "I'm cooking." He tasted it, and his eyes lit up. "Perfect," he said. He took the piece of cheese from Hazard and grated it over the mixture.

"Umm, why?" Gregor asked, peering into the pot. Ripred shrugged.

"The cook got annoyed. She said if I was going to eat the same thing everyday, I might as well learn how to cook it. Then one thing led to another and now she's gone and I'm the one cooking. And it's not just shrimp in cream sauce anymore, either." He nodded at Hazard who took the pot and poured it over a large bowl of noodles and mixed them together. "Fettuccini alfredo," Ripred explained. "From an Overlander cookbook." He looked at Luxa. "We need to eat outside. It's too hot in here."

They talked a lot as they ate. Apparently, there had been peace for four years, something unheard of in the past.

"But don't believe I've gotten soft after all this lack of action," Ripred growled at Gregor. "I'll still train with you, for your benefit as well as mine. A rager never loses his instinct, and I need someone to practice with. Including in the dark."

Gregor laughed. "Don't worry, Ripred, I've been practicing." He looked at everyone seated around him. Lapblood had come as soon as she had smelled food and Mareth had joined them soon after. Everyone from his adventures who was still alive was there.

"It's almost like a reunion," Gregor remarked. "If only Ares—" Gregor stopped. Ares. The image of his bat lying on the ground, his blood spilling from his throat unlocked memories he would rather forget, but knew he never would. A wave of pain and sorrow swept through him at the memory, and he was almost glad when he was broken out of his reverie by Luxa.

"Gregor," she began. He looked at her. "I know no flier will ever be able to replace him, but I have found something that might help ease the pain of Ares's loss." She smiled at him gently and cupped her hands to her mouth. "Aurora!" she called. This struck Gregor as odd. Luxa usually kept her bond with her as much as she could. His thoughts returned to reality when Luxa turned back to him. "Even after so long we all remember and miss him," she murmured softly to him.

"Me, too," he murmured, mostly to himself. Luxa glanced up.

"Ah, here they come," she told him. _They?_ he thought confusedly as he scanned the sky. Everyone continued eating as if everything happening was to be expected. Rapidly approaching were three smudges that quickly turned into bats. The center one he recognized as Aurora. The two fliers flanking her were unfamiliar, but as he studied them, he realized with a jolt that the flier on Aurora's left looked uncannily like Ares. He stared at the black bat at they landed. He glanced at Luxa who was smiling at him.

"Go greet her," she urged him. Gregor stood and stumbled towards the gold bat.

"Greetings, Aurora the Flier," he said, stealing glances at the bat beside her.

"Greetings, Overlander," she said, and her soft voice was filled with amusement as he dropped all pretenses of looking at her and openly stared at the black bat on her left, who stared back at him, undaunted. He looked back at Aurora, shock and confusion on his face.

"H-how—" he stammered.

"I'd like you to meet my pups," Luxa's bond said in answer. "This is my daughter, Artemis," she said, indicating the silvery gold bat on her right. Artemis nodded at her.

"Greetings, Overlander," she said in her quiet, musical voice. Gregor nodded mutely.

"And this," Aurora continued, indicating the black bat to her left, "Is my son, Zephyr."

"Greetings, Overlander," Zephyr said in a voice that seem all too familiar to Gregor. Gregor couldn't even reply. He looked closer and gasped.

"Ares?" he asked Aurora hesitantly.

She paused before answering, "Yes, Overlander. Ares is their father."


End file.
